Normalised power is average power which places more of an emphasis on peaks right?

So like FTP, its not linear, you accumulate more NP the higher you go?

Both of the approaches just kinda do the same thing right?

Except that the method of riding like your legs feel relies a little more on athlete knowing their bodies, and using the meter as a guide to avoid the glycogen sapping anaerobic peaks?


Your explanation of red zones - short spikes for uphill sections or passing, then keeping it on the gas over the crest, then backing off for the downhills?
Combining this with an average to aim for can still work though right? As long as you keep time after the surge to recover? Or on the longer rises are you saying that its really better to avoid the surges as much as possible?
Obviously there is a lot of personal variability in applying this method, some people can push harder for longer and recover faster, others will blow up and ruin their run straight away?

Are you completely against aiming for an average? A safe bet would be to set a lower average and hold that and risk leaving something on the ride right?

I'm not a competitive age grouper, its my first race of this distance and I'm racing more against myself than against the other guys, so I won't be following surges of riders if they blow past me (if I can keep the car-chasing dog inside of me at bay).

What is VI? Vary Input?

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Its about the entire journey, not just the moment you cross the line.

JohnnyO is talking about what he does with his athletes and how he trains them. It will not do you much good as you have not been training that way.

If I was you I would stick to 80% of FTP on flats, and try to stay around threshold on the climbs depending on the length. This will leave you freshest for your run. In future races you can up the power.

VI is Variability Index. It is NP/AP. A perfect VI would be where NP=AP or 1.00. Most amateurs try to stay at 1.05 or below depending on the course. The higher the number, the more surgy your ride was.

Cheers TT.

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Its about the entire journey, not just the moment you cross the line.

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

Look at it this way. NP will quantify the equivalent impact that the ride had on your legs. AP is the actual energy generated. With wind and hills, a VI of 1.00 will not the the fastest to most efficient bike split. It may require riding at a lower average power and higher VI. Riding too easy up a hill is a missed opportunity as going faster has a smaller aero penalty than riding on a flat. Similarly, pushing hard downhill (after you've accelerated back up to speed) will have diminishing returns.

One simple thing to remember when riding hill. A hill starts after you've deaccelerated at the bottom and ends after you've accelerated back up to speed over the top. Unless it's a very short roller, pushing early and cutting power too soon is less efficient. You don't ever want to fight a "2 front war". Divide and conquer... battle the wind and hills independently. A power file on a hilly course will probably have a big spike at the bottom 1/2 of the hill, power levels off, then at the top it drops like a rock. Do that 50 times on hilly course and you're walking the run. It's probably why the relatively flat Kansas 70.3 run is considered so hard by many. It's usually hot and humid and many push too hard on all the rolling hills.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

was that a reply to me???

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

Thanks Jonathan, that makes sense.

I meant to say TSS, not FTP. That TSS accumulates faster the harder you work. It lines up with the rest of what you are saying.

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Its about the entire journey, not just the moment you cross the line.

So working around an average power output for the day, assume my 80% FTP target is applicable on race day, given the inherent day to day variability that Jonathan mentioned above, then going over that target is likely to carry a bigger penalty than staying below it.

I will need to work slightly harder going up the hill, then back off after the crest. But how much harder, and how much to back off?

There are some levels, like above mentioning 150 to 200% FTP that will be felt for minutes afterwards depending on recovery effort and time, but other efforts, like 10-20% increase that will not even be noticeable. Its probably something learnt by feeling right? I'd be curious to know if there is a formula that can be applied to long courses? Has it been discussed somewhere already?

I'm also lucky that Busselton is one of the flattest courses on the 70.3 circuit, with only 86m of total climb over the bike course :)

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Its about the entire journey, not just the moment you cross the line.